In the face of the first wave of purchases, especially among the players who had already experienced Arthas taking up Frostmourne and witnessed the entire transformation from a noble Paladin into a terrifying Death Knight, seeing this later promotional CG naturally created an incredibly strong sense of contrast.
Just moments ago, they had watched Arthas take Frostmourne and stage what could practically be called a dramatic performance of being the ultimate unfilial son.
And now? Here came a CG filled with a deep, emotional father-and-son monologue. The contrast was simply too strong! It was almost as if someone had deliberately taken two completely different emotional scenes and smashed them together.
However, for ordinary players who had not yet begun to understand the storyline, there was obviously no way for them to understand the hidden joke behind this contrast.
They didn't know what had happened between Arthas and his father.
They didn't know why the players who had already experienced the story were laughing so hard.
They didn't know why the mere appearance of a father-and-son conversation could immediately trigger countless comments and discussions.
But none of that prevented them from becoming interested in the game itself. Even though "Warcraft" was an RTS game, the excellent quality of the game, combined with the vigorous promotion from PixelPioneers and the extremely favorable release timing, had already allowed it to attract an enormous amount of attention.
At the same time, companies such as Moondustries, Ansoft, and several other major game companies also had upcoming AAA masterpieces waiting in the wings. For the time being, these companies were only warming up their respective projects, preparing to officially reveal them together at the game exhibition at the end of the month.
Although there were quite a few popular mid-sized games launching during this period, none of them could truly be considered opponents on the same level as "Warcraft." The gap was simply too obvious.
And when it came to the popularity of a game, once a topic was successfully formed and the game itself was good enough, the speed at which the discussion spread could be frighteningly fast, especially in an era where live-streaming and video websites were developing at an astonishing pace.
On the major video websites and live-streaming platforms, "Warcraft" had practically completed a full-scale sweep. Its popularity on platforms such as the social account and various forums had also reached an astonishing level, occupying the number-one position on multiple hot-search lists. It wasn't simply a game that people were talking about; it had become a phenomenon.
Even the major game platforms had launched their evaluations of "Warcraft" almost immediately after release, and practically all of them had given it extremely high scores.
On the one hand, PixelPioneers could be said to be a major advertising source for many of these platforms. Naturally, they were more than willing to give the game a considerable amount of exposure.
But on the other hand, there was a much simpler reason. "Warcraft" genuinely possessed the quality to deserve such praise. Even though it was an RTS game, its excellent graphics, rich gameplay, and compelling storyline made it far more approachable than traditional RTS titles.
Most importantly, the campaign mode provided a very friendly entry point for players who had never seriously touched an RTS game before. Countless players who had previously never been exposed to RTS games, or who had never been interested in RTS gameplay, had also purchased "Warcraft."
Of course, compared with the explosive first-day sales of "The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim" and "Metal Gear: Phantom Pain," the sales performance of "Warcraft" could not be considered equally terrifying. But even so, its sales quickly broke through two million copies. Then, without showing any sign of slowing down, it began charging toward the three-million-copy mark.
Compared with those previous blockbusters, it might have appeared that "Warcraft" had suffered a huge Waterloo. But when its identity as an RTS game was taken into consideration, achieving such a result was already enough to make everyone in the industry stare in disbelief. After all, the number of players who genuinely enjoyed RTS games was simply too small.
For an RTS title to achieve sales on this scale meant that a huge number of players who normally had absolutely nothing to do with RTS games had actually purchased a game specifically designed around the RTS genre. That alone was something worth paying attention to.
Moreover, it wasn't only ordinary non-RTS players who were being attracted. The true core of "Warcraft" was still the RTS mode. As more and more hardcore RTS players began to enter the game and familiarize themselves with its mechanics, many of them quickly became addicted after understanding how the system worked.
The original "Warcraft" series had already gone through three major generations, from "Warcraft: Orcs & Humans" and "Warcraft II" to "Warcraft III," and the final "Frozen Throne" version had also undergone countless rounds of patches and balance adjustments. All of this had gradually polished the game into an extremely stable version.
It couldn't be said that there was absolutely no so-called overpowered race in this version, but there were still differences between the races. There were still matchups that could make players feel uncomfortable. However, the overall gap was definitely within a range that ordinary players could accept and even professional players could accept it.
And although "Warcraft" had not been released for very long and most players still didn't fully understand its systems, there was absolutely no doubt that the complex units within "Warcraft," the mutual restraints between different troops, the coordination requirements, and the completely different characteristics of each race could provide RTS enthusiasts with an enormous amount of content to study. It was the kind of game that could be researched for months. Perhaps even years.
Of course, not every RTS player immediately switched over to "Warcraft." There were still a large number of players who stubbornly remained with their old RTS games. For various reasons, they had yet to experience the unique fun offered by "Warcraft."
Eyden Lukáš was one such RTS player. As someone who had spent years playing RTS games, his favorite titles were still the classic competitive RTS games from several years ago. Even though many new RTS games had been released afterward, he had basically never experienced most of them. The main reason was simple: RTS games were too costly to learn, as the learning curve was simply too steep.
For a newcomer, understanding the basic controls was only the beginning. After that came resource management, construction timing, unit composition, scouting, positioning, map awareness, strategic decision-making, countering enemy units, and countless other details.
Therefore, Eyden usually preferred to watch games first. He would watch live streams and videos on various platforms. If a game looked interesting enough, he would buy it and play it himself. If it didn't look interesting, he simply wouldn't touch it.
He had also learned about "Warcraft" for the first time. But very quickly, he lost interest. In the campaign mode, Arthas, after obtaining Frostmourne, could charge forward and cut down enemies with a single strike. This was called an RTS? Let's play!
"RTS is supposed to test the player's operations and their ability to control different units. What's the fun in a game where a single hero can practically carry you through the entire game?" Looking at his RTS group chat, where a large number of RTS players he had played with in the past were enthusiastically discussing the content of "Warcraft," he couldn't help but speak with a hint of dissatisfaction.
As soon as those words appeared, the small group suddenly fell silent for two or three seconds. Then, a string of question marks appeared.
"Bro, what the hell are you talking about?"
"You're already acting like this?"
"???" Seeing the responses from the people in the group, especially the sarcastic tone hidden within them, Eyden's expression remained unchanged.
However, he was clearly getting a little angry. "Isn't it true? What kind of RTS game is 'Warcraft'? You directly train a hero, and that hero can practically walk through the entire campaign. What's the point?"
"???"
"Bro, did you actually buy the game?"
"Don't tell me you're a tourist player?"
At this moment, an ID named SKY suddenly appeared in the group. "Although I haven't played it much myself, 'Warcraft' is definitely the best RTS game I've played in recent years. In the online warfare mode, it's not only about the details of operation. The combination of units and the characteristics of each race are also extremely well designed."
"Is he playing 'Warcraft' too?"
"God, what do you think about the balance of 'Warcraft'?"
"The Night Elves are so difficult to fight. Which race are you playing now?"
"When are you going to release a strategy guide?"
With SKY's appearance, the group, which had previously been filled with people silently lurking and watching the conversation, instantly exploded. This ID was extremely well known within the RTS circle. In this particular small group, SKY was unquestionably one of the most powerful players.
Of course, Eyden was very familiar with the ID SKY. In fact, the two of them were quite familiar with each other. Otherwise, SKY wouldn't have casually mocked him for being a tourist.
In the RTS games they had played before, SKY had taught him quite a few tricks. So when he suddenly saw SKY appear in the group and casually mention that he was playing "Warcraft," he froze in front of his computer screen. This game had an online mode? He didn't know about this at all.
For a moment, his entire expression became blank, and he sat in front of the computer for two or three seconds without moving. Then his eyes drifted toward the screen of his phone, where a live stream of "Warcraft" was still playing beside his keyboard.
He paused. Then, without changing his expression, he exited the live stream. Next, he opened the game platform, and he went directly to the sales rankings. As expected, "Warcraft" was sitting firmly at the very top.
Eyden clicked on it, and he scanned the payment code. Purchased. The entire process took less than a minute. Then he opened his game library, took a screenshot showing "Warcraft," and immediately sent it into the group.
"Of course I bought the game. I just temporarily played the campaign mode." He paused for a moment before adding: "I only played up to the part where Arthas obtained Frostmourne."
"Go directly to online." SKY's message came almost immediately. "Start with a computer opponent if you're unfamiliar with it. Then play some online matches. The normal competitive mode and the campaign mode of this game are basically two completely different games. And although heroes are important, they aren't anywhere near as overwhelmingly powerful as they are in the story mode."
"Alright, I'll try it." Looking at the game that was still downloading and installing, Eyden leaned back in his chair and finally looked a little more relaxed. Who was the tourist? Did he buy the game? Of course he bought it! He wasn't a tourist! He had simply been playing the campaign mode before! That's all!
Eyden stared silently at the download progress bar on his computer as the percentage slowly climbed upward. At the same time, he continued watching the messages in the group as everyone discussed the various aspects of "Warcraft." The more he watched, the more curious he became.
Could this game really be that fun? For the first time since purchasing "Warcraft," Eyden began to seriously wonder whether he had underestimated the game.